An evaluation of various WAIS-R factor structures in a psychiatric sample

This report examines the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale‐Revised (WAIS‐R) in a sample of 229 psychiatric patients from two community mental health centers (ages 16 to 85). One‐, two‐, and three‐factor solutions were evaluated. The robustness of an overall intelligence dimension was supported. The two‐factor solution proved more informative and showed both that the Verbal and Performance domains are highly correlated and the presence of a second‐order factor that may represent a kind of intellectual orientation or style. The three‐factor solution provided the least compelling results and was not seen as a viable representation of the WAIS‐R factor structure.